1. You should know how to start a fire without matches.
2. You should know basic survival skills.
3. You should know how to grow your own vegetables.
Even if you live in a city, you should make an effort to learn to grow your own food- including all kinds of vegetables, herbs and fruits. It takes a lot of skill, experience and time to make these plants yield valuable output- so if you’re interested in learning this- don’t waste another minute. You might need this skill one day.
4. You should know how to swim.
5. You should know how to change a tire.
It’s possible you get a flat while on a trip one day, with no access to a car repair place; perhaps even stranded in the middle of nowhere. What if no one on this trip knew how to change the tire? Changing a tire is something you can learn how to do in a matter of minutes that could save you lots of time and headaches on your next road trip.
6. You should know how to jump start a car.
7. You should know how to code.
Not knowing how to program will soon become synonymous to being illiterate. It doesn’t seem this way yet, but this age is coming. If you don’t know how to program, you’re merely consuming the whole world around you, which is programmed. It’s important to know how to navigate this new world by being able to tell the computer what to do. If you want to start empowering yourself, here are some resouces.
8. You should know how to build a website.
Another issue of basic technological literacy. Everyone should have a website- whether it’s personal or for a business. If you don’t know the basics of building a website, you have to hire someone or buy a template. You are going to benefit a great deal from learning. It’s also a great WAY TO EARN side income.
9. You should know how to think critically and question the status quo.
With all this information at our fingertips, now more than ever, we need to be able to think for ourselves, question the current way of doing things, and be critical of all forms of media, government and education.
10. You should know how to cook an egg (correctly!)
11. You should know how to perform CPR.
Do you want to save a life? 70 percent of Americans feel helpless during a cardiac emergency, and here’s another surprising statistic- the life you save is most likely the life of someone you love, because 4 out of 5 cardiac arrests occur at home.
12. You should know how to manage your time.
Time management is a precise art and science, and if you haven’t studied it yet, you should. Applying these principles of time management to your life can get you back precious hours you didn’t know you had, and completely eliminate much of your productivity destroying behavior.
13. You should know how to dress properly.
14. You should know how to approach and meet new people.
Even if you’re an introvert, it is important to have the ability to walk up to a new person and hold a nice conversation. Meeting people is a great way to learn new things, expand your network, and gain new opportunities in life.
15. You should know how to lift your own weight.
If you can lift your own weight, it also means you can lift a lot of things without having to rely on someone else. Having strength is always a handy trait to have and, in case of an emergency involving hanging off a ledge, you’ll be able to pull yourself out of trouble with ease.
16. You should know how to remember peoples’ names.
17. You should know how to give a toast in front of lots of people.
Public speaking is the number one fear in the world (ranking higher than the fear of death.) It’s a fear, but if you practice, it’s not that scary. Learning to say a few words in front of a large or small group is a huge asset that can be used in so many instances, professional and personal. For example, you may need to give a toast at a wedding some day. Don’t you want to be prepared and make it awesome? Go to a local Toastmasters Club meeting and try it out.
18. You should know how to negotiate.
Good negotiation skills can save you a ton of money. These skills can also get you that raise at your job you’ve been dreaming about. If you know how to negotiate properly, it means you’re holding all the cards and you’re prepared to battle it out.
19. You should know how to detect a lie.
Learning to detect when someone is lying to you seems like a sneaky thing to do, but you’d be surprised how handy it could become, especially if you’re raising children, or in charge of a huge team. It gives you the chance to consider all possibilities in a relationship. Did you know 91 percent of humans lie on a regular basis at work and at home, and you’re lied to about 2 or 3 times in a ten minute conversation? Yeah. Food for thought.
20. You should know how to shut up and listen genuinely.
21. You should know how to tell a good story.
It sucks being the one person around the campfire who has nothing to offer, doesn’t it? Learn how to tell a good story that will have people using their imaginations again. When the power goes out or there’s no cell phone service available, you’ll be a valuable source of entertainment to everyone.
22. You should know how to defend yourself against single and multiple assailants.
23. You should know how to invest in the stock market.
24. You should know how to speak at least one or two languages besides English.
25. You should know how to make money (without a job.)
Jobs and paychecks are not the only way TO EARN MONEY. There are many entrepreneurs out there who know this, but there are just as many people who are wondering how it’s done while slaving away at jobs. There is another way, and it’s not magic, or the lottery. It’s determination, investing in your own education, and lots of sweat. And it’s definitely possible. Instead of plopping down in front of the t.v. after work, set some time aside to learns something and build up your educational and entrepreneurial skills.
26. You should know how to manage your personal finances.
This means knowing how to create a budget, knowing how to save money, automating your income and learning to INVESTand pay yourself first, before paying all your bills.
27. You should know how to draw.
In A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink talks about the importance of flexing our “right brain” muscles, by learning creative skills such as drawing. Learning to draw will actually improve leadership ability in a person, and enhance and develop traits like empathy, inventiveness, and big-picture thinking.
28. You should know how to be a respectful house guest.
29. You should know how to keep your computer secure.
With all the information security threats and identity theft these days, we all want to make sure our computer is secure, our personal data is private (as much as possible), and our firewalls are up. Do you know how to set yours up? This is basic computer literacy and probably one of the more important things to be aware of.
30. You should know how to navigate with a map and compass (without a GPS).
Not to mention- learn to find the north star, learn to get your east/west bearings from the sun… what if you’re on a trip and your GPS system fails you?
31. You should know how to sew.
32. You should know how to travel hack.
Once you learn this skill, you will never want to pay for a plane ticket ever again. Just type “travel hacking” into your search engine and let the fun begin.
33. You should know how to be happy.
34. You should know how to have a conversation with someone of any age.
It’s a sign of true maturity and humanity when a person can hold a quality conversation with a 5 year old or a 92 year old person without flinching. You will also learn so much about life if you do this regularly.
35. You should know how to drive a manual transmission vehicle.
People who drive stick shift (manual transmission) cars understand their car engines better than people who drive automatic transmission vehicles. Manual transmission vehicles are more energy efficient than automatic transmission vehicles. They are also more responsive to braking and accelerating, and they are safer because of this higher level of control from the driver. A more informed and advanced driver is also a safer driver. Finally, many parts of the world drive manual transmission cars more than automatic cars, and you may need to know how to drive one at some point in your life!
36. You should know how to back up your data.
37. You should know how to say “I’m sorry” and “I was wrong.”
38. You should know how to sing or play an instrument.
39. You should know how to ask for help.
It takes guts to do this, and at some point in everyone’s life, they will need some help from somebody.
40. You should know how the basics of how to repair a car.
I am always amazed at how the guys from Top Gear (the original, British version) can fix a broken down car in the middle of driving through some crazy salt flats, or the desert. How useful would it be if we could all understand the basic workings of a car, diagnose the problem, and fix our own cars instead of spending hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars at the car repair shop, trying to describe the weird sound the car is making to the mechanics.
41. You should know how to control your temper.
Holding onto anger, as well as letting anger control your actions usually does more harm to you than good. Learn to let the anger dissipate before reacting. Many angry emails were regrettably sent because of the inability to control our tempers and let the passion die down a bit first.
42. You should know how to show gratitude, write a thank you note.
43. You should know how to write professionally.
There are many, many reasons why you should know how to write professionally, from the basic cover letter to the customer service email. Writing professionally will allow your message to be clear and your voice to be respected, even when you’re not speaking face to face.
44. You should know how to perform basic first aid.
45. You should know how to give a compliment.
46. You should know the correct way to respond to criticism.
Learn this skill to avoid looking defensive, unprepared and immature. Criticism is a good thing (most of the time), and it can help you improve and develop yourself if you can learn how to take it objectively and reflect on yourself and your work.
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